Bondage
by Singer1108
Summary: Until Ichigo and Rukia can solve their arguement, they're handcuffed together by Urahara. Will they be able to solve their differences before they drive eachother crazy? IchiRuki.


"I can't believe we're stuck like this." Ichigo said angrily.

"You've got no one to blame but yourself, idiot. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Me? What about you? You're just as much to blame!"

"Like hell I am!" Rukia shouted. "This is all your fault! All you have to do is apologize and we're free!"

"I'm not the one who's gonna say sorry!" Ichigo said.

"Well then you better get comfortable, because until this problem is solved, you're stuck with me, strawberry."

"Tch. Whatever, midget."

_Earlier that day…_

"Alright, so, explain it to me again…" Urahara said. "Why don't you want to be Ichigo's partner anymore?"

"Because he's an ungrateful bastard, that's why." Rukia stated.

"And you're saying this because…?"

"Because I won't thank her for doing something incredibly stupid." Ichigo said.

"Stupid? If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now!"

"How would you know? Maybe I wouldn't have been killed!"

"And maybe you would have been!"

"Well maybe if you wouldn't jump to conclusions, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

"Me! You're lucky Orihime got there when she did, Ichigo! I did all I could to stop your wounds from bleeding until she got there!"

"And at what cost? You nearly died from blood loss too, you know!"

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is? Because I fail to see it!"

The two scowled at one another violently, the room quickly filling with tension. Urahara stared at the two of them carefully before grinning slightly.

"Alright. I think I know just the solution to your problem." He said, reaching into the pocket of his robe and pulling out an object that caused both Ichigo and Rukia to blush.

"Now, hold out your wrists." Urahara said, twirling a pair of handcuffs on his finger.

"Are you insane? I'm not letting you anywhere near me with those things!" Ichigo protested.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice. Either of you." He said, quickly snapping the cuffs to the two.

"Now listen carefully. These are no ordinary handcuffs. As you can see, there are no keyholes or trick safety releases. You can't even get out of them using kido. The only way you can get out is to resolve your argument. So until the two of you can get things figured out, you'll be bonded together."

"You've got to be kidding…" Rukia said.

"We're going to be stuck like this forever, aren't we?" Ichigo said, hanging his head in shame.

XXXX

"Damn you, Kisuke." Ichigo mumbled.

"Look, Ichigo, it's getting late. We should really be going to sleep. Plus, there's school tomorrow." Rukia said.

"I guess you're right. But…there's a problem."

"What now?"

"Sleeping arrangements…" Ichigo said with a blush.

"Oh…yeah. That is a problem…" Rukia said.

"I guess…we can share my bed. It's bigger than the one in the closet, so we should be able to fit." Ichigo said with embarrassment.

"Fine," Rukia said. "But you better not try anything funny!"

"Tch. I wouldn't dream of it," Ichigo said, his whole face glowing red.

XXXX

Ichigo woke the next morning, the sun burning his retinas, blurring his vision.

"Stupid sun," he groaned, trying to turn away from it, until he felt a small tug at his wrist.

"Oh right. I forgot about that." He mumbled, turning his head to face Rukia. He felt his body tense up as he watched her sleep. His eyes followed the contours of her petite body and stopped once they reached her face. It looked so gentile, almost as if she had never experienced a moment of anger in her entire life.

"Why am I looking at her like this?" he thought, his cheeks turning a light pink color, as Rukia began to stir.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I hate mornings."

"Sorry," Ichigo said, turning his face to hide his embarrassment.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He said.

"Alright, fine, I won't." she said, sitting herself up.

"Um. Did you sleep okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't. I was just wondering."

"…are you feeling okay?" Rukia asked.

"I'm fine," he said. "Let's just forget about it and get ready for the day."

"Good idea," Rukia said, leaping up from the bed, causing Ichigo to fall face first on the floor.

"Hey! Watch it!" he yelled.

"Get over it, you big baby!"

"Watch it, runt!"

"Just shut up and get dressed!"

"And just how are we going to do that? In case you forgot, we're handcuffed together! Just how exactly are we supposed to get a different shirt on!" Ichigo snapped.

"You actually have a good point…"

"You think? Just what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"What else can we do? We have to go out of uniform."

"But we'll get in trouble!"

"Like that really matters! What other choice do we have?"

"We could just not go? Yeah, that's it, let's just stay home so nobody will see us like this." Ichigo said quickly.

"Why are you so concerned about this?" Rukia asked.

"I just don't want people talking. They'll get the wrong idea."

"Let them think what they want, Ichigo. You've never been bothered by it before. Just try and deal with it. This will all be over soon anyway."

"You think?"

"Yeah. All you have to do is say sorry, and the chain will break."

"Ichigo scowled. "Shut up! I'm not saying anything!" he yelled, tugging Rukia down to his level on the floor. "You got that?"

Rukia stared at him in disbelief before punching him in the face.

"Whatever, Ichigo. Let's just get ready, alright?" she said, her voice filled with both anger and sadness.

"Yeah. Alright." Ichigo replied nasally, pinching his nose to stop the blood.

XXXX

"Woo! What do we have here!"

"Shut up, Keigo. It's not what it looks like." Ichigo said with anger.

"Say whatever you want, Ichigo, I see what's really going on here. You and Rukia had a romantic encounter last night and lost the key, didn't you?"

"That's not even close…" Rukia said.

"I'm so proud of you, dude!"

"Keigo, that's enough!" Ichigo said, clenching his fists in anger.

"Rukia and Ichigo, they had a set of cuffs. Everyone who knows them knows that they like it rough. Whips, chains, bondage galore! All their clothes scattered on the floor!" Keigo sang, causing both Rukia and Ichigo to blush violently.

"I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!" Ichigo shouted.

XXXX

"I'm so glad this day is over," Ichigo said, dragging Rukia behind him as he entered his room.

"You and me both…" Rukia said, still embarrassed from Keigo's moronic song.

Ichigo sat down on his bed, a look of frustration and embarrassment written on his face. Rukia stared at him, a wave of guilt sweeping over her body.

"Ichigo…" she said.

"What is it?"

"I…I'm sorry."

Ichigo looked up at her, shocked and confused.

"You're sorry?"

"It's because of me that we're like this. If I hadn't jumped in front of the hollow, none of this would have happened."

Ichigo continued to stare at her, unable to speak.

"So…I'm sorry…Ichigo. I mean it." Rukia said, avoiding making eye contact with him.

"Rukia…look at me." He said, gently tugging on the cuffs to get her attention. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. It's me. I'm the one who should be saying sorry."

"But Ichigo, I-"

"Stop and listen for a second. You're right, okay? If it weren't for you, I would have been killed. But still, I feel like it's my fault that you had to sacrifice yourself for me. I should have been more careful. I'm sorry for being so reckless and I'm sorry for not thanking you for saving my life yet again."

"Ichigo…"

"Please, just…don't apologize anymore." He said, his eyes shaking. "Because it was all my fault, not yours."

Rukia stared at him and smiled sweetly.

"You idiot," she said, sitting down behind him.

Ichigo let out a small chuckle at her comment.

"So, am I forgiven then?" he asked.

"I guess so. Just…promise me we won't fight over something like this again." Rukia said softly, placing her hand on his.

"You bet," he replied, looping his fingers through hers.

"We do have another problem though." She said with frustration.

"What?"

"We resolved our argument, yet these stupid handcuffs won't come off."

"I think I know how to get them off." Ichigo said suspiciously.

"How?"

"All stories have to have a happy ending, right? Think about it."

"…wait, you don't mean…"

"Exactly," he said, before crushing his lips onto hers.

The kiss broke apart minutes later after the sound of metal hit the floor.

"It worked?" Ichigo thought, returning his attention to Rukia, whose eyes were shaking fervently, her cheeks a deep crimson color.

"I, uh, well.." Ichigo stammered.

"It's okay," Rukia said, turning away from him, rubbing her now bare and lightly bruised wrist.

"Y-yeah," he replied, his own face warming up.

"I think I'm going to head to bed early. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before walking over to the closet.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." He said, smiling as he watched her walk away.


End file.
